Christ Crucifixion 31 or 33 CE?

From the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry, the religious leaders were aware of His message and the signs that confirmed His authority. John wrote: "There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, ‘Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him’" (John 3:1–2). This was during the first Passover season of Jesus’ ministry, in 28ad. Over the next three years, these leaders had many opportunities to grow familiar with Jesus’ message, and to hear about and witness many miraculous signs. None of this satisfied them.
From the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry, the religious leaders were aware of His message and the signs that confirmed His authority. John wrote: "There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, ‘Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him’" (John 3:1–2). This was during the first Passover season of Jesus’ ministry, in 28ad. Over the next three years, these leaders had many opportunities to grow familiar with Jesus’ message, and to hear about and witness many miraculous signs. None of this satisfied them.
In fact, they came to Him several times to demand a sign that would establish once and for all that He was the Messiah. On each of these occasions, Jesus told them that only one such sign would be given to them. John records that the first such exchange occurred during the Passover season of 28ad, when Jesus cleansed the temple by chasing out the moneychangers. Upon being accosted by the religious leaders, who demanded that He show another sign in addition to the miraculous healings He had performed in the temple, "Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up’.… But He was speaking of the temple of His body" (John 2:19–21). Matthew records a similar exchange: "Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, ‘Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.’ But He answered and said to them, ‘An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth’" (Matthew 12:38–40).
There you have it! The only sign Jesus offered to the skeptical religious leaders of His day was that He would spend exactly three days and three nights in the tomb. Did that sign come to pass? Absolutely! Notice the testimony of an angel, spoken to the women who came early Sunday morning to embalm the body. "He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay" (Matthew 28:6). Jesus had promised that He would be exactly three days and three nights in the tomb and He rose just exactly as He said He would.
How is it possible to equate three days and three nights with the time between "Good Friday" and "Easter Sunday"? Count it yourself; it simply will not work! Some assert that "three days and three nights" is a Greek idiom and can mean any portion of three days and three nights. But this theory fails when we allow the Bible to define its own terms.
Note that Jesus was referring to Hebrew usage, not Greek. He specifically connected His stay in the tomb with that of Jonah in the fish’s belly. "Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights" (Jonah 1:17). This same expression was used when Queen Esther told her cousin Mordecai: "Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me, neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day" (Esther 4:16). Each of these accounts was clearly describing a period of 72 hours—three days and three nights. This is exactly what Jesus meant, and the Pharisees knew it. Notice how they quoted his statement to Pilate, the Roman governor: "Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise’" (Matthew 27:63). They knew that Jesus was not talking about a mere day-and-a-half, but rather indicating three full days.

When Was the Crucifixion?

"But," many will respond, "doesn’t the Bible say that Jesus was crucified and buried on Friday and that the tomb was empty on Sunday morning?" It is true that the tomb was already empty on Sunday morning, but the Bible nowhere speaks of a Friday crucifixion. It does say that He was crucified on the "preparation day" (Mark 15:42–45), but we must recognize which preparation day this was. Remember, the Bible speaks of annual Sabbaths—"Holy Days"—in addition to the weekly Sabbath (cf., Leviticus 23:4, 7, 24, 27–32). Jesus was crucified on the preparation day before an annual Sabbath, during the daylight portion of the Passover—Abib 14 on the Hebrew calendar. The following day—Abib 15—is an annual Holy Day, the first Day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
Passover fell on a Wednesday in 31ad, the year of Jesus’ crucifixion. Thursday was an annual Sabbath, the first Holy Day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Jesus was buried just before sunset on Wednesday afternoon, and was in the tomb Wednesday night, Thursday, Thursday night, Friday, Friday night, and Saturday—three days and three nights, just as He promised. He was resurrected just before sunset on Saturday afternoon, exactly 72 hours after His burial. On Sunday morning, when the women came at dawn to embalm His body, He was already gone. They did not see the resurrection; they saw an empty tomb, and were told by an angel that He had risen just as He said He would.
Jesus Christ came as "the Lamb of God" to pay the penalty for sin (John 1:29). "For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us," Paul declared (1 Corinthians 5:7). A careful study of the gospel accounts shows that Jesus and His disciples ate the Passover meal after sunset at the beginning of Abib 14 (Mark 14:16–18, Luke 22:13–15, cf. Exodus 12:1–8). Later that evening, after supper, they went to the Mount of Olives (Mark 14:26), where soldiers, led by Judas Iscariot, found and arrested Him (vv. 43–46). Soon after dawn, the Sanhedrin met to formally charge Jesus and have Him delivered to Pontius Pilate (15:1). By 9 a.m. that morning—the "third hour" from daylight in Jewish usage (v. 25)—Christ, along with two criminals, had been led to a hill on the outskirts of Jerusalem and crucified in the characteristic Roman manner. From noon until Jesus’ death at about 3 p.m., there was complete darkness over the entire area (vv. 33–37).
Shortly afterward, Joseph of Arimathea sought an audience with Pilate and requested that Jesus’ dead body be released to him for burial (v. 43). After summoning the centurion in charge of the executions to ascertain that Jesus was really dead, Pilate gave Joseph permission to take and bury the body (vv. 44–45). Luke, in his gospel, emphasized that the burial was hurried and took place just before sunset (Luke 23:53–54, cf. John 19:41-42). This emphasis that Jesus was hurriedly buried shortly before the Sabbath began has confused many people into thinking that the crucifixion took place on a Friday. Many readers overlook John’s explanation that this "Sabbath was a high day" (John 19:31). It was not a weekly Sabbath; it was an annual "high day" Sabbath. Remember, Abib 15—the day after the Passover—was the first Holy Day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the first of seven annual Holy Days commanded to ancient Israel (Leviticus 23:5–7).

The various gospel accounts make it plain that there were actually two Sabbaths that week—an annual Holy Day on Thursday, and the regular weekly Sabbath on Saturday. Notice Mark’s statement: "Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him" (Mark 16:1). Shops in Jerusalem would have been closed on both the weekly and annual Sabbaths. Jesus was buried right before the annual Holy Day Sabbath began, and the women were present for His burial (15:47). Their first opportunity to buy and prepare spices would have been on Friday, when the shops reopened after the Holy Day that began the Festival of Unleavened Bread. Note that Luke explains it was after the women prepared the spices and fragrant oils—a job that would have taken hours—that "they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment" (Luke 23:56).
How could they have waited until after the Sabbath to buy and prepare spices (as Mark clearly states), yet rest on the weekly Sabbath after they had prepared the spices (as Luke clearly states)—unless there were actually two Sabbaths in that week? Understanding this point is the key to understanding the duration of Jesus’ time in the tomb.
Why, then, did the women come to the tomb on Sunday morning? Was it to celebrate the first Easter sunrise service? Of course not! They were coming at the first available opportunity to embalm a dead body (Luke 24:1). When they arrived, Jesus was already gone—and the tomb was open so that all could see it was empty.
Why was this a special sign, to the religious leaders, confirming Jesus’ Messiahship? The religious leaders of Jesus’ day had their own hand-picked witnesses to the events of Jesus’ death and burial. Remember, Matthew explained that on the day after the crucifixion—early in the morning of the "high day" Sabbath—the Jewish leadership sent a delegation seeking Pilate’s permission to post an armed guard to secure the tomb. Pilate authorized them to do so, and instructed: "You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how" (Matthew 27:65). These guards were witnesses to the events that followed, and were the ones who informed the religious leaders of what actually happened (28:11). From the mouths of the very guards that they themselves had posted, these leaders learned that Jesus had fulfilled the sign of the prophet Jonah—just as He said He would!

This article explains it quite nicely. Jesus was crucified in 31 CE/AD and not on 33 CE/AD like most christains believe. 33 ce has been used so long in order to keep with the tradition of good friday and easter sunday yet the proof is in the bible. How could Jesus be buried before the annual sabbath, the women buy oils and spices AFTER the high day sabbath, rest on the weekly sabbath and it be possible to do all of this in the span of friday, saturday and sunday? The bible proves that there was a day between the high day and weekly sabbaths after Jesus was crucified. You can't have that believing Jesus was crucified on Friday. Only a Wednesday crucifixion fits the biblical account. Wednesday was the day of passover, the day Jesus died. The annual sabbath was on thursday. Friday was the preparation day for the weekly sabbath. Saturday was the weekly sabbath and Jesus resurrected just before sunset on the sabbath, three days and three nights AFTER being buried. This time frame within the available times of Jesus' life and death only fits with a wednesday passover on 31 CE. Anyone care to refute the biblical evidence?

reply to post by TruthJusticeFreedom


Please keep unrelated matters off of my thread. This is about the crucifixion of Jesus, not a place to complain about a mod.

Come on people! where are you all? Fighting on bluejay's "hell" thread? Me too, but come on and give this thread a boost!!!

reply to post by Locoman8


Sorry, but I fail to see the importance of the topic. I mean, what difference does it make? It's just not something I feel is an important in the "big picture" of things.

Can you explain to me the importance of it?

reply to post by Locoman8




We have bigger issues to deal with, for the record I disagree.

If you want to deal with cross verses stake then that one I am willing to take on.

reply to post by badmedia


My point is to expose the lies of "good friday". It is very important in the true teachings vs. man's tradition.

reply to post by Blue_Jay33


Why do you agree with 33AD? Because of "good friday?" It's important to discuss the truth behind what happened and when because it reveals the truth behind "good friday" and "easter sunday", two false events.

reply to post by Locoman8


I also disagree with the year 31C.E.

I've been REALLY busy with work, so I can't go into details right now,
but let me drop some hints.... and this is where really understanding prophecy and Bible chronology comes into play.

#1 hint: Daniels prophecy of the "70 weeks"

#2 hint: what year was the Messiah to "arrive"

#3 hint: how long did Jesus' ministry last on earth



PS - topics like these really help me appreciate something about Jehovah God, and that is: he is an ACCURATE TIME KEEPER.

reply to post by holywar


Do you not even consider the whole "two Sabbaths" that occured at this time? He died on Passover. Burried before sunset to avoid work on the "HIGH DAY SABBATH" which was the first day of unleavened bread. Mark speaks of the women waiting for the Sabbath to end so they can buy and prepare spices and oils. Luke speaks of the women prepping spices and oils before resting on the Sabbath. Now, do these verses contradict each other? No. Jesus was found missing AFTER the Sabbath when the women went to anoint the body of Christ. The only way for this to be possible is to put the Passover on a Wednesday, not Friday as 33CE would put it.

Wednesday: Jesus crucified and burried.
Thursday: High Day Sabbath (15 Abib... First day of unleavened bread).
Friday: Preparation day for the weekly Sabbath. The women prepared spices.
Saturday: Weekly Sabbath. The women rested before anointing the body of Christ on the first day of the week. Jesus rose from the tomb before sunset Saturday.
Sunday: Jesus was found missing from the tomb very early in the morning, while it was still dark as the women came to anoint the body of Christ.

31CE is the only date for this time period that fits with a Wednesday Passover. You can take "man's" interpretation of a prophecy and use that for your date..... or you can see plainly with the help of the actual account of Christ's death what year He really died. Good Friday is a scam!

reply to post by Locoman8


Locoman

When was Jesus baptized, what year?

How long was his ministry?

I think you need to research that, and answer those two questions first.

Originally posted by Blue_Jay33
reply to post by Locoman8

 

Locoman

When was Jesus baptized, what year?

How long was his ministry?

I think you need to research that, and answer those two questions first.

He was baptized on 28AD.
His ministry lasted for 3 1/2 years.
Reguardless of that answer, whatever someone thinks it is, the facts are in the Gospels of Mark and Luke. If you avoid this plain bit of evidence, you decieve yourself in a man-made interpretation of Daniel's prophecy.

Locoman I will give this a go, if you understand it great, if not, to me it's one of the more minor issues, as I previously stated. I stayed away from this earlier because of how time consuming this post would end up being.

Scriptural basis for this discussion is

Daniel chapter 9 verses 24-27 (Amplified Bible)

24Seventy weeks [of years, or 490 years] are decreed upon your people and upon your holy city [Jerusalem], to finish and put an end to transgression, to seal up and make full the measure of sin, to purge away and make expiation and reconciliation for sin, to bring in everlasting righteousness (permanent moral and spiritual rectitude in every area and relation) to seal up vision and prophecy and prophet, and to anoint a Holy of Holies.

25Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem until [the coming of] the Anointed One, a Prince, shall be seven weeks [of years] and sixty-two weeks [of years]; it shall be built again with [city] square and moat, but in troublous times.

26And after the sixty-two weeks [of years] shall the Anointed One be cut off or killed and shall have nothing [and no one] belonging to [and defending] Him. And the people of the [other] prince who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood; and even to the end there shall be war, and desolations are decreed.

27And he shall enter into a strong and firm covenant with the many for one week [seven years]. And in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and offering to cease [for the remaining three and one-half years]; and upon the wing or pinnacle of abominations [shall come] one who makes desolate, until the full determined end is poured out on the desolator.

To determine the time of the Messiah’s arrival, first we need to learn the starting point of the period leading to the Messiah. According to the prophecy, it is “from the going forth of the word to restore and to rebuild Jerusalem.” When did this “going forth of the word” take place? According to the Bible writer Nehemiah, the word went forth to rebuild the walls around Jerusalem “in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king.” (Nehemiah 2:1, 5-8) Historians confirm that the year 474 B.C.E. was Artaxerxes’ first full year as ruler. Therefore, the 20th year of his rule was 455 B.C.E. Now we have the starting point for Daniel’s Messianic prophecy, that is, 455 B.C.E.

Daniel indicates how long the time period leading to the arrival of “Messiah the Leader” would last. The prophecy mentions “seven weeks, also sixty-two weeks”—a total of 69 weeks. How long is this period of time? Several Bible translations note that these are, not weeks of seven days, but weeks of years. That is, each week represents seven years. This concept of weeks of years, or seven-year units, was familiar to Jews of ancient times. For instance, they observed a Sabbath year every seventh year. (Exodus 23:10, 11) Therefore, the prophetic 69 weeks amount to 69 units of 7 years each, or a total of 483 years.

Now all we must do is count. If we count from 455 B.C.E., 483 years takes us to the year 29 C.E. That was exactly the year when Jesus was baptized and became the Messiah! (Luke 3:1, 2, 21, 22)

From 455 B.C.E. to 1 B.C.E. is 454 years. From 1 B.C.E. to 1 C.E. is one year (there was no zero year). And from 1 C.E. to 29 C.E. is 28 years. Adding these three figures gives us the total of 483 years. Jesus was “cut off” in death in 33 C.E., during the 70th week of years.

This picture time line explains it the best.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/8685b9cdfd36.jpg[/atsimg]

Additionally in Acts chapter 10 Cornelius a Roman army officer became the first gentile christian in 36 CE, this finished the "Seventy Weeks"

reply to post by Blue_Jay33


Did you consider the fact that Jewish years were 360 days and not 365? Did you also consider historians may have the date wrong by 1 or 2 years? This tends to happen when dealing with approxamites, which most historians use for things dating back that far.

In addition, what do you make of my case? How do you explain the "break" between the two sabbaths the week Jesus was crucified? You have to weigh all evidence and not just an "approxamite" formula for His death year. Please give me your take on my evidence for you. Research the women preparing spices and oils for the anointing of Christ's body and how the yearly and weekly sabbath fell.

reply to post by Locoman8


A simple calculation tells us that can't be right either.

490x5=2450/360=6.8.

Also did you factor in there is no countable 0 year because you say he was baptized in 28 CE which would be correct if there was a zero year, but there isn't.

reply to post by Blue_Jay33


I know there aint a zero year. But to be so certain on the exact year with Daniel's 70 weeks prophecy and disreguard the truth on the Gospel accounts is slightly arrogant in my humble opinion. My formula for calculating His death year revolves around what day the Passover fell when He died. Because the body of Christ had to be buried before sunset due to the High day Sabbath and because the women rested before buying and preparing oils and spices according to Mark.... and because the women prepared the spices after the high day Sabbath THEN rested on the weekly sabbath before anointing the body of Christ on the first day of the week, the evidence is there in the Gospel. One day was between the two sabbaths. The only way this could be possible is if that day was a friday.... the day the women prepared spices and oils. This would put the high day Sabbath on Thursday and the death of Christ on Wednesday. The only year that works with this formula is 31CE. By using this year, you can approximate your formula of Daniel's 70 weeks. It must have been off by 1 or 2 years or maybe the meaning of this prophecy wasn't what you think it was.

The recorded evidence in the Gospel takes presidence over a prophecy that may or may not mean what you think it means. The actual event took place and by putting the puzzle pieces together from the Gospel, you can find the actual year of death for Christ and bury the lies of "good friday" and "easter sunday".

I think I know where the confusion is on this, based on the Jewish calender Nisan 14 is different every year.
So for example in 2008 it was March 22 a Saturday, in 2009 it was April 9 a Thursday, in 2010 it is March 30 a Tuesday. This variation of up to a couple weeks could very well be the reason why.

reply to post by Blue_Jay33


Exactly my point. Passover in 31CE was on Wednesday April 25. Most protestant religions use 33CE to prove the Good Friday/Easter Sunday scenario, which is the basis of my argument and point. Just research the date of Wednesday, April 25 31CE/AD and you'll get tons of information on that date and proof of Christ's crucifixion.

Would it not be beneficial to use the Jewish year instead of the Roman year to count the years?

I think that is where the problem lies.